"Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies" (Proverbs 31:10)

Saturday, August 12, 2006

Hide the Word

T w h I h i m h, t I m n s a t. P 119:11

Okay, you're going to look at that and say, "What???"

No, it's not some secret code. It's a method of Scripture memorization that I learned when we lived in Texas some years ago. You take the first letter of each word, and all the punctuation, and write them down. Then you use that to help you remember the verse. At the church we attended in Texas, they used to hand out cards that had the whole verse on one side, and just the first letters on the other side. The above verse is actually this:

Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee. Psalm 119:11

In doing this study on Titus 2:3-5, I have gotten stuck on this one phrase pertaining to the older women:

. . .that they be in behaviour as becometh holiness. . ."

My one recurring thought has been, Am I holy? The more I examine myself in the light of Scripture, the more I have to say, no, I am not. So what do I do about this?

Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ; as obedient children, not fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance: but as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy (1 Peter 1:16).

Notice the first admonition: "gird up the loins of your mind." This is where temptation and sin have their start, and where character is formed. "For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he. . ." (Proverbs 23:7). So the first step toward holiness is to think as God thinks. And that means spending time in His Word, hiding it in my heart, and meditating on it. "But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night" (Psalm 1:2).

A couple of years ago, I used the memorization method described above to memorize the book of Philippians. I've forgotten some of it, so I'm going back over it again. It is such a rich book, and I'll be referring to it in future posts.